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List of counties in Iowa
There are 99 counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The first two counties, Des Moines County and Dubuque County, were created in 1834 when Iowa was still part of the Michigan Territory. In preparation for Michigan's statehood, part of Michigan Territory was formed into Wisconsin Territory in 1836. Two years later, the western portion was split off to become Iowa Territory. The south-eastern part of Iowa Territory became Iowa, the 29th state in the union, on 28 December 1846, by which point 44 counties had been created. Counties continued to be created by the state government until 1857, when the last county, Humboldt County, was created. One of the most significant days in Iowa county history was January 15, 1851, on which 49 counties were created. ]] The Iowa Constitution of 1857, which is still in effect today, states that counties must have an area of at least , nor can any county be reduced below that size by boundary changes. However, exceptions to this rule were granted, as ten counties have areas below this size. (The table below shows land area, but the Constitution deals with total area.) The smallest county (Dickinson) has a land area of , while the largest (Kossuth) has an area 973sq mi (2,520 km²). Polk County is the most densely populated county at 657 persons/sq mi, and contains the state's capital and largest city, Des Moines. County information The number in the column headed "#" is the one used on the map from the National Atlas of the United States, shown on the left. The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county. | region_seat_title = County seat | region_seat_width = | region_seat_ref = | data1_title = # | data1_width = 30 | data2_title = Established | data2_width = | data2_ref = | data3_title = Formed from | data3_width = | data3_ref = | data4_title = Etymology | data4_width = | data4_ref = | data4_unsortable = yes | population_ref = | area_ref = }} |Data4=John Adair (1757–1840), sixth governor of Kentucky|Area=569|Population=7682|Data3=Cass County|size=120}} |Data4=John Adams, second President of the United States (1797–1801)|Area=424|Population=4029|Data3=Taylor County|size=120}} |Data4=Disputed, possibly named for Allan Makee, an early Indian trader and guide for early settlers|Area=640|Population=14330|Data3=Clayton County|size=120}} |Data4=Appanoose, Native American chief who headed peace party in the Black Hawk War|Area=496|Population=12884|Data3=Davis County|size=120}} |Data4=John James Audubon (1785–1851), ornithologist and artist|Area=443|Population=6119|Data3=Black Hawk County and Cass County|size=120}} |Data4=Thomas Hart Benton, United States Senator (1821–1851) |Area=716|Population=26076|Data3=Native American lands and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Black Hawk (1767–1838), chief of Fox and Sac Indians and leader in the Black Hawk War|Area=567|Population=131090|Data3=Delaware County|size=120}} |Data4=Nathan Boone (1781–1863), one of the first to survey Iowa|Area=572|Population=26306|Data3=Polk County|size=120}} |Data4=Fredrika Bremer (1801–1865), Swedish poet and author|Area=428|Population=24276|Data3=Native American lands and Winnebago County|size=120}} |Data4=James Buchanan, fifteenth President of the United States (1857–1861)|Area=571|Population=20958|Data3=Delaware County and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Battle of Buena Vista, a battle during the Mexican-American War|Area=575|Population=20260|Data3=Clay County and Sac County|size=120}} |Data4=William Orlando Butler (1791–1880), War of 1812 hero and unsuccessful candidate for Vice President|Area=580|Population=14867|Data3=Black Hawk County and Buchanan County|size=120}} |Data4=John Caldwell Calhoun, Vice President of the United States (1825–1832)|Area=570|Population=9670|Data3=Fox County (renamed)|size=120}} |Data4=Charles Carroll (1737–1832), longest lived signatory of the Declaration of Independence|Area=569|Population=20816|Data3=Guthrie County|size=120}} |Data4=Lewis Cass, United States Senator from Michigan and unsuccessful candidate for President (1848)|Area=564|Population=13956|Data3=Pottawattamie County|size=120}} |Data4=Red Cedar River, river which runs through county|Area=580|Population=18499|Data3=Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Battle of Cerro Gordo, battle during the Mexican-American War|Area=568|Population=44151|Data3=Floyd County|size=120}} |Data4=Cherokee Native American tribe|Area=577|Population=12072|Data3=Crawford County|size=120}} |Data4=Chickasaw Native American tribe|Area=505|Population=12439|Data3=Fayette County|size=120}} |Data4=James Clarke, third Governor of Iowa Territory (1845–1846)|Area=431|Population=9286|Data3=Lucas County|size=120}} |Data4=Henry Clay, Jr. (1807–1847), officer in the Mexican-American War|Area=569|Population=16667|Data3=Native American lands|size=120}} |Data4=John M. Clayton (1796–1856), United States Senator from Delaware|Area=779|Population=18129|Data3=Dubuque County and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), Governor of New York|Area=695|Population=49116|Data3=Dubuque County and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=William Harris Crawford (1772–1834), United States Senator from Georgia|Area=714|Population=17096|Data3=Shelby County|size=120}} |Data4=George Mifflin Dallas (1792–1864), eleventh Vice President of the United States|Area=586|Population=66135|Data3=Polk County|size=120}} |Data4=Garrett Davis (1801–1872), congressman|Area=503|Population=8753|Data3=Van Buren County|size=120}} |Data4=Stephen Decatur (1779–1820), naval officer in the War of 1812|Area=532|Population=8457|Data3=Appanoose County|size=120}} |Data4=State of Delaware, home of Iowa statehood advocate U.S. Senator John M. Clayton |Area=578|Population=17764|Data3=Dubuque County and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Des Moines River, river that once ran through the county|Area=416|Population=40325|Data3=Michigan Territory and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Daniel Stevens Dickinson (1800–1866), United States Senator from New York|Area=381|Population=16667|Data3=Kossuth County|size=120}} |Data4=Julien Dubuque (1762–1810), first permanent white settler in Iowa|Area=608|Population=93653|Data3=Michigan Territory and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Robert Emmet (1778–1803), Irish revolutionary and American republican sympathizer |Area=396|Population=10302|Data3=Dickinson County and Kossuth County|size=120}} |Data4=Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), Frenchman who aided colonial forces during the American Revolutionary War|Area=731|Population=20880|Data3=Clayton County and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Charles Floyd (1782–1804), member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition who died in Iowa|Area=501|Population=16303|Data3=Chickasaw County|size=120}} |Data4=Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), statesman and U.S. founding father|Area=582|Population=10680|Data3=Chickasaw County|size=120}} |Data4=John Charles Fremont (1813–1890), officer in Mexican-American War|Area=511|Population=7441|Data3=Pottawattamie County|size=120}} |Data4=Nathanael Greene (1742–1786), American Revolutionary War general|Area=568|Population=9336|Data3=Dallas County|size=120}} |Data4=Felix Grundy (1777–1840), United States Senator|Area=503|Population=12453|Data3=Black Hawk County|size=120}} |Data4=Edwin B. Guthrie, officer in Mexican-American War|Area=591|Population=10954|Data3=Jackson County|size=120}} |Data4=William W. Hamilton, President of the Iowa Senate (1856–1857)|Area=577|Population=15673|Data3=Webster County|size=120}} |Data4=John Hancock (1737–1793), President of the First Continental Congress|Area=571|Population=11341|Data3=Wright County|size=120}} |Data4=John J. Hardin (1810–1847), prominent soldier in the Black Hawk War|Area=569|Population=17534|Data3=Black Hawk County|size=120}} |Data4=William Henry Harrison (1773–1841), ninth President of the United States|Area=697|Population=14928|Data3=Pottawattamie County|size=120}} |Data4=Disputed; either Henry Dodge (1782–1867), governor of Wisconsin Territory; ''or James Dougherty Henry, general in the Black Hawk War|Area=434|Population=20145|Data3=Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Tilghman Ashurst Howard (1797–1844), congressman|Area=473|Population=9566|Data3=Chickasaw County|size=120}} |Data4=Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), German scientist|Area=434|Population=9815|Data3=Webster County|size=120}} |Data4=Mount Ida in Greece |Area=432|Population=7089|Data3=Cherokee County|size=120}} |Data4=Iowa River, river that flows through the county, and which is itself named for the Ioway Native American tribe|Area=586|Population=16355|Data3=Washington County|size=120}} |Data4=Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), seventh President of the United States|Area=636|Population=19848|Data3=Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=William Jasper (1750–1779), sergeant in the American Revolutionary War|Area=730|Population=36842|Data3=Mahaska County|size=120}} |Data4=Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third President of the United States|Area=435|Population=16843|Data3=Native American lands|size=120}} |Data4=Richard Mentor Johnson (1780–1850), Vice President of the United States 1837-1841|Area=614|Population=130882|Data3=Des Moines County, Iowa and Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=George Wallace Jones (1804–1896), United States Senator from Iowa|Area=575|Population=20638|Data3=Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Keokuk (1767–1848), chief of the Sac Native American tribe|Area=579|Population=10511|Data3=Washington County|size=120}} |Data4=Lajos Kossuth (1802–1894), Hungarian revolutionary who was inspired by American democratic ideals |Area=973|Population=15543|Data3=Webster County|size=120}} |Data4=William Elliott Lee, businessman from the New York Land Company, which sold the county's first tracts of land |Area=517|Population=35862|Data3=Des Moines County|size=120}} |Data4=Lewis Fields Linn (1795–1843), doctor and United States Senator from Missouri|Area=718|Population=211226|Data3=Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Disputed; either in Louisa County.| accessdate=2008-08-17}} Louisa Massey, a woman then famous for avenging the death of her brother; or Louisa County, Virginia| Area=402|Population=11387|Data3=Des Moines County|size=120}} |Data4=Robert Lucas (1781–1853), first Governor of Iowa Territory|Area=431|Population=8898|Data3=Monroe County|size=120}} |Data4=Nathaniel Lyon (1818–1861), first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War, (formerly named Buncombe County) |Area=588|Population=11581|Data3=Woodbury County, Iowa|size=120}} |Data4=James Madison (1751–1836), fourth President of the United States|Area=561|Population=15679|Data3=Polk County|size=120}} |Data4=Mahaska (1784–1834), chief of the Ioway Native American tribe|Area=571|Population=22381|Data3=Fox and Sac Indian lands|size=120}} |Data4=Francis Marion (1732–1795), general in the American Revolutionary War|Area=554|Population=33309|Data3=Washington County|size=120}} |Data4=John Marshall (1755–1835), fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court|Area=572|Population=40648|Data3=Jasper County|size=120}} |Data4=Frederick Mills, major killed during the Battle of Churubusco in the Mexican-American War|Area=437|Population=15059|Data3=Pottawattamie County|size=120}} |Data4=John Mitchel (1815–1875), Irish revolutionary who for a time operated out of the United States |Area=469|Population=10776|Data3=Chickasaw County|size=120}} |Data4=Word of Native American origin that perhaps translates to "peaceful valley"|Area=693|Population=9243|Data3=Harrison County|size=120}} |Data4=James Monroe (1758–1831), fifth President of the United States|Area=433|Population=7970|Data3=Wapello County|size=120}} |Data4=Richard Montgomery (1738–1775), general in the American Revolutionary War|Area=424|Population=10740|Data3=Polk County|size=120}} |Data4=Muscatine Native American tribe |Area=439|Population=42745|Data3=Des Moines County|size=120}} ||Data4=William Smith O'Brien (1803–1864), Irish revolutionary who was inspired by American democratic ideals|Area=573|Population=14398|Data3=Cherokee County|size=120}} |Data4=Osceola (1804–1838), Native American leader|Area=399|Population=6462|Data3=Woodbury County|size=120}} |Data4=John Page, officer killed in Battle of Palo Alto in the Mexican-American War|Area=535|Population=15932|Data3=Pottawattamie County|size=120}} |Data4=Battle of Palo Alto in the Mexican-American War|Area=564|Population=9421|Data3=Kossuth County|size=120}} |Data4=Landing place of the Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower|Area=864|Population=24986|Data3=Woodbury County|size=120}} |Data4=Pocahantas (1595–1618), famous Native American woman|Area=578|Population=7310|Data3=Greene County and Humboldt County|size=120}} |Data4=James K. Polk (1795–1849), eleventh President of the United States|Area=570|Population=430640|Data3=Native American lands|size=120}} |Data4=Pottawattamie Native American tribe|Area=954|Population=93158|Data3=Native American lands|size=120}} |Data4=Poweshiek, chief of the Fox tribe|Area=585|Population=18914|Data3=Mesquakie Indian lands|size=120}} |Data4=Samuel Ringgold (1796–1846), major killed in the Mexican-American War|Area=538|Population=5131|Data3=Taylor County|size=120}} |Data4=Sac Native American tribe|Area=576|Population=10350|Data3=Greene County|size=120}} |Data4=Winfield Scott (1786–1866), U.S. Army General during the War of 1812|Area=458|Population=165224|Data3=Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Isaac Shelby (1750–1826), general in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 |Area=591|Population=12167|Data3=Cass County|size=120}} |Data4=Sioux Native American tribe|Area=768|Population=33704|Data3=Plymouth County|size=120}} |Data4=Joseph Story (1779–1845), United States Supreme Court justice|Area=573|Population=89542|Data3=Boone County, Jasper County, and Polk County|size=120}} |Data4=Disputed; either Taimah, Fox chief; or Taomah, wife of Poweshiek |Area=721|Population=17767|Data3=Benton County and Boone County|size=120}} |Data4=Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), twelfth President of the United States|Area=534|Population=6317|Data3=Page County|size=120}} |Data4=The union of the states |Area=424|Population=12534|Data3=Clarke County|size=120}} |Data4=Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), eighth President of the United States|Area=485|Population=7570|Data3=Des Moines County|size=120}} |Data4=Wapello, chief of the Fox Native American tribe|Area=432|Population=35625|Data3=Native American lands|size=120}} |Data4=Joseph Warren (1741–1775), General in the American Revolutionary War|Area=572|Population=46225|Data3=Polk County|size=120}} |Data4=George Washington (1732–1799), first President of the United States|Area=569|Population=21704|Data3=Wisconsin Territory|size=120}} |Data4=Anthony Wayne (1745–1796), General in the American Revolutionary War|Area=526|Population=6403|Data3=Appanoose County|size=120}} |Data4=Daniel Webster (1782–1852), U.S. Senator from Massachusetts |Area=715|Population=38013|Data3=Risley County and Yell County (defunct counties) |size=120}} |Data4=Winnebago Native American tribe|Area=400|Population=10866|Data3=Kossuth County|size=120}} |Data4=Winneshiek, chief of the Winnebago Native American tribe|Area=690|Population=21056|Data3=Native American lands|size=120}} |Data4=Levi Woodbury (1789–1851), Governor of New Hampshire, (formerly named Wahkaw County)|Area=873|Population=102172|Data3=Polk County|size=120}} |Data4=William Jenkins Worth (1794–1849), officer in the Black Hawk War and the Mexican-American War|Area=400|Population=7598|Data3=Mitchell County|size=120}} |Data4=Silas Wright (1795–1847), Governor of New York, and Joseph Albert Wright (1810–1867), Governor of Indiana, brothers|Area=581|Population=13229|Data3=Webster County and Kossuth County |size=120}} |} Former counties The following counties no longer exist: *Bancroft (1851–1855), merged with Kossuth County *Cook (1836–1837), merged with Muscatine County *Crocker (1870–1871), merged with Kossuth County *Risley (1851–1853), formed Webster County *Yell (1851–1853), formed Webster County See also * List of cities in Iowa * List of townships in Iowa References External links * Iowa: Individual County Chronologies Category:Counties of Iowa Category:Iowa-related lists Iowa, counties in